Part of my beat took me into the prison library and as usual Mabel was in the library reading another book. She had become obsessed with becoming a better person and was reading books on homemaking, cooking, remodeling and anything she could find that would make her life nicer when she got out. As I did every day I walked up behind her and said, “Hi Mabel, what are you reading today?”
She smiled and said, “Hello Officer Curiel, I am reading a book on barbecuing. Didn’t you say you enjoy barbecuing?”
I said, “I did say that. You have a remarkable memory.”
She said, “I remember everything you tell me Officer.”
I had heard from other inmates that Mabel had a thing for me but that was the most direct that she had ever been. She had recently met with the parole board and once again she had been denied parole. I had known her for a long time and thought she was fully rehabilitated but no one seemed to care what a prison guard had to say. It was when she found out that I had offered to testify at her parole hearing that she started flirting with me all the time.
I smiled and said, “I’m flattered.”
Mabel said, “You shouldn’t be. Ever since I killed my husband no one wants anything to do with me.”
Mabel had found out her husband was having an affair. It was a long time affair and he was essentially leading a double life. She bought a nice bottle of champagne, had a glass and poisoned the bottle. She figured sooner or later her cheating husband would take the bottle and split it with his mistress and she was right. He had been missing for several days when the mistress’ neighbors complained of a smell coming from the home. Both of them were found dead in the bedroom with their clothes off. The police immediately suspected Mabel and she actually confessed the whole thing believing a jury would be sympathetic. She was wrong.
I said, “You know how I feel Mabel. He had it coming to him.”
Mabel smiled and said, “I know that’s how you feel. That’s why I like you Officer Curiel.”
I left the library to have my friend Mike corner me immediately, “Hey buddy, saw you talking to your woman. Why don’t you marry her so she can kill you too?”
I said, “She’s a nice girl Mike. If she excited me at all I would go out with her but I’m just not into red heads with freckles.”
Mike said, “But would you take a glass of wine from her?” He poked me in the ribs when he said this.
I replied, “If I was being faithful. But if I was cheating on her I wouldn’t go near the house.” We both laughed.
A couple of weeks later my beat took me back into the library again. I said, “Hi Mabel, what are you reading today?”
She said, “A book that is going to change my life. It is the third one on this topic but I’m not ready to try it yet.”
I said, “What is it?”
She said, “It’s a surprise.”
I said, “There are no surprises in prison Mabel. I can go look at every book you’ve taken off the shelf so why don’t you just tell me?”
Mabel said, “Or you could let me surprise you, treat me like a human being and not look at my library card.”
I said, “Okay, but now the suspense is killing me. When are you going to tell me?”
Mabel said, “I’ll show you next week.”
I said, “I won’t have library duty for two more weeks.”
Mabel said, “Then you’ll have to wait two more weeks.”
I was so curious I started to go over to her library records to see what she was reading when the siren went off. We went into lockdown and I ran into the courtyard to see what was going on. A prisoner had ripped all of her clothes off and was dancing naked in the middle of the courtyard. A crowd had gathered around her and was cheering her on. When the guards fired warning shots she stopped dancing, realized she was naked, pull her clothes up around her and ran from the crowd.
I completely forgot about Mabel and her books. We got a blanket around the young lady and asked her what happened. She said she couldn’t remember anything and woke up in the middle of the courtyard with her clothes off. We took her to the psychiatric ward of the prison hospital and left her with the staff.
Two weeks went by and I realized I had library duty. I hadn’t given Mabel much thought but now that I realized it was time to see her again I got excited about her big surprise. I went into the library and found her sitting by herself without any books.
I said, “You’re not reading today?”
She said, “No, today is the big day. I have read all I need to read. Are you allowed to sit with me or is that against the rules?”
I said, “It is against the rules. Why do you ask?”
She said, “I need to talk to you alone. Can you follow me into the book aisles?”
I said yes and followed her. We got into an aisle of books and she turned towards me. My training caused me to immediately back up and scan for a weapon. She realized what I was doing and said, “Oh no Officer Curiel. I would never hurt you. I brought you back here to tell you what I’ve been reading. Are you ready?”
I said, “Um sure. But why all the secrecy?”
She said, “You’ll see. Remember that prisoner who danced for everyone?”
I shook my head yes. She said, “She was so tense that she just snapped. If she had learned my relaxation techniques she would have been fine. You are so tense that I worry about you so my big surprise is that I’m going to teach you to relax today. You will be more relaxed than ever in just ten minutes.”
I said, “But I need to be on edge. It is what keeps me alive.”
She said, “But you don’t need to be on edge with me. I’m your friend. Now take a deep breath and as you exhale allow your whole body to relax.”
I didn’t mean to but I immediately took a deep breath and as I exhaled I felt myself relax. She said, “Very good Officer Curiel. Now take another deep breath and this time as you exhale I want you to let your vision blur a little bit. Focus on my eyes and let everything else blur.”
I inhaled again and as I exhaled I let everything except her eyes become blurred. Then she said, “See how wonderful that feels? Now this time I want you to let all outside sounds disappear except my voice. Go ahead and take your deep breath.”
As I exhaled I felt extremely relaxed and a little confused at the same time. I felt very lethargic and was vaguely aware of my surroundings. This is not a safe mental state for a prison guard but it felt so good that I decided I was going to tell her to stop after I allowed her to relax me just a little bit more.
Mabel said, “Very good Officer Curiel. You are doing so much better than Sylvia did. Now this deep breath is going to make you feel so sleepy you will need to brace yourself against a bookshelf. It’s okay to relax with your good friend Mabel. Just lean up against the book shelf and exhale for me.”
As I exhaled I felt my legs get weak and I went to the bookshelf not only because Mabel had told me to but because I felt the need to. As I let my body go into the shelf I thought, “Who is Sylvia?”
Mabel stepped up close to me. She was much closer than we allow prisoners to get to us but I felt so peaceful and calm around her. My head felt heavy so I was having trouble making eye contact. Mabel said, “You seem so tired Officer Curiel. It seems so silly to call you Officer Curiel doesn’t it? Tell me your first name.”
We were never supposed to give the prisoners our first name. It breed familiarity and that could lead to betrayal later on. So you can imagine my surprise when I blurted out, “Samuel, but I go by Sam.”
Mabel said, “Very good Sam. You weren’t supposed to tell me your name were you?”
I said, “No Mabel. It just slipped out.”
She stepped even closer and was only inches from my face. If another guard came by they would strike her down. I wanted to warn her but no words came to my mouth. She lowered her voice and said, “It didn’t just slip out. You are feeling very relaxed and very comfortable with me. We are friends and you completely trust me. You want me to relax you even more don’t you Sam?”
I said yes. I wasn’t sure if I meant it but I knew that was the answer she wanted me to give and again, it just kind of slipped out. Mabel stood inches from my face and almost whispered, “It is time to sleep for me Sam. I am going to count backwards from five to one and each number is going to make your eyes so heavy and your mind so sleepy. You will remain standing but your eyes will close and you will fall into a wonderfully deep sleep where you will hear only my soft soothing compelling voice.”
Mabel counted backwards from five to one but my eyes were closed before she ever got to one. Then she said, “You went so much deeper than Sylvia and you saw the control I had over her mind. So let me tell you what books I have been reading. I have been reading books on hypnosis. And your big surprise is that you are deeply hypnotized and must obey my every whim and desire. Now tell me little Sammy, as a prison guard can you get me out of here?”
Sylvia, her cellmate, was the woman in the courtyard. Now I remembered but it was too late to change my fate. I replied, “Only by breaking you out of here.”
She said, “Can you break me out of here without them knowing for a while?”
I said, “I can give you 24 hours.”
She said, “You mean you can give us 24 hours. You will be my knight in shining armor. You will protect me, you will worship me and you will adore me. I killed my first husband because he cheated on me but you will never even look at another woman. I am your goddess and there is no other woman for you. Tell me what I am to you.”
I said, “I am your knight in shining armor. I will protect you, I will worship you and adore you. I will never even look at another woman. You are my goddess and there is no other woman for me.”
Then she said, “Now tell me how we get out of here.”
Three days later I loaded Mabel onto the back of a delivery truck. The driver had no idea she was in the box and I personally inspected the vehicle and waved him out of the gates. We had no idea when he would stop but when he did Mabel would get out, run to a payphone and let me know where she was.
I checked out, changed out of my uniform and got into the rental car I had picked up. Our bags were loaded, my cash was out of the bank, the guns were loaded just in case and I left the prison for the last time. I knew I had been hypnotized but it didn’t seem to matter. She was my goddess and I would do anything for her. I never agreed with the state’s decision to lock her up and now I would personally rectify the situation.
I picked her up at a truck stop over a hundred miles from the prison. We were three states away and had switched cars twice before we heard the first report that Mabel was missing from her cell. We were already in the cabin in Montana before the first reports came out that named me as an accomplice. I had purchased the cabin in a different name and was fairly confident it could not be traced to me. I paid cash but that wasn’t uncommon in this area. We settled into our new cabin in the woods when Mabel pulled out the champagne.
Mabel said, “Let’s drink a toast; to us and our new lives.”
She had opened the bottle when I was unloading the car. She handed me the glass and I toasted and drank. She smiled at me and said, “You passed your first test.”
I said, “My first test? What was that?”
She said, “You drank from a champagne bottle that was already open knowing that is how I killed my first husband.”
I slammed the remainder of my champagne down and said, “You are my goddess. If I ever did anything to hurt you I would deserve poisoned champagne and would willingly drink it.”
Mabel said, “Good boy. Now let’s consummate our union in the bedroom. When the heat is off we will see about assuming new identities and getting married.” I said, “I know a woman who can help us. She helped all sorts of criminals assume new identifies before she got arrested. She was in cellblock 42 before her release.”
Mabel said, “Oh you are going to come in handy aren’t you. But enough talk, I want my pussy licked.”
I dropped to my knees and said, “Yes my goddess, anything for you.”
She pushed my head between her legs and said, “I thought you would say that.”